Straightening, digital perm or treatment: which one your hair actually needs

If humidity is the reason your hair no longer behaves, you’ll hear several treatment names in Vietnam, and they’re not the same thing. Choosing the wrong one is the most common way to spend money without solving the problem.

The terms you will hear

The important distinction: straightening changes the shape of the hair; treatment changes the surface. If your problem is shape, a treatment will disappoint you. If your problem is a rough, damaged surface, straightening won’t fix it.

Straightening: what it commits you to

Because the change is internal, it doesn’t wash out. The section that has been straightened stays straight until you cut it off.

It cuts both ways. The upside is that it lasts. The catch is that you can’t really try it once and walk away — the roots that grow in afterwards still have their original texture, so there will be a line between the treated hair and the new growth.

In this climate, that line appears sooner than people expect. Later sessions usually only need the new growth done; redoing the full length every time is a fast way to weaken the hair.

Is your hair ready?

Not every head of hair should have chemical work done immediately. Three situations where we would usually suggest waiting:

• Recently bleached several times. The hair needs enough strength left to hold a new structure.
• Recently permed. Straightening over a perm, or the reverse, stacks stress in the same place.
• Hair that feels spongy when wet. That texture is a sign the internal structure is already compromised.

If your hair falls into one of these, we’ll tell you and suggest waiting or doing something lighter.

What it will not fix

Straightening removes wave. It doesn’t stop hair from absorbing moisture, and it doesn’t repair damage. If your hair falls flat by lunchtime because the roots were still damp when you left, straightening is not the answer to that particular problem — drying technique is.

This is worth separating out before you book, because the three complaints below need three different answers:

• The whole head puffs up, even straight after washing → wave plus humidity
• Only the ends are dry and tangled → damage at the ends
• Fine in the morning, collapsed by afternoon → drying technique or damp roots

At emo.

We work out which of these problems you actually have before we suggest anything. If adjusting how you dry your hair would be enough, we’ll say that — even though it’s the answer that costs you nothing.

You can speak English, Japanese, Vietnamese, Chinese and Korean with us. Both Japanese and Vietnamese stylists work here, and you are welcome to request either.

Our online booking page is currently in Japanese only. If that’s a hassle, just call or message us on Zalo — we’re happy to help in English or Vietnamese.

• Phone: 0707 177 290
• Zalo: message us on Zalo
• Book online (Japanese page)

emo. Hair Salon
14 Raymondienne, khu Starhill, phường Tân Mỹ, Quận 7, Ho Chi Minh City (near Crescent Mall, in Phú Mỹ Hưng)
Tue–Fri 9:00–19:00 (last cut 18:00) / Sat–Sun 9:00–18:30 (last cut 17:30) / Closed Mondays